Decreased labour force participation among men

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Labour force participation among men decreased from the 2nd quarter of 2016 to the 2nd quarter of 2017. The decrease applied for most of the age groups according to new figures in the statistics Labour force survey.

The labour force participation rate among men aged 15-74 was 72.8 per cent in the 2nd quarter of 2017, down from 73.9 per cent from the same quarter the previous year, according to the statistics Labour force survey. The figures on unemployed men decreased by 17 000 in this period, while the increase in the figures on employed men by 5 000 is within the margin of error. During the same period, the population aged 15-74 has increased by 32 000, half of them men.

Figure 1. Persons (15-74 years) in the labour force, by gender. In per cent of the population in each group

Both genders Males Females
Q2 2006 72.3 75.9 68.7
Q2 2007 72.8 76.1 69.5
Q2 2008 74.4 77.8 71
Q2 2009 73.6 76.7 70.4
Q2 2010 72.5 75.8 69.1
Q2 2011 71.7 74.2 69.1
Q2 2012 72.1 75 69.1
Q2 2013 71.5 74.5 68.4
Q2 2014 71.3 74 68.4
Q2 2015 71.6 74.4 68.7
Q2 2016 70.8 73.9 67.5
Q2 2017 70.2 72.8 67.6

Among women aged 15-74 the participation rate was 67.6 per cent in the 2nd quarter of 2017, approximately the same as a year earlier. For women, there were only small changes in most of the age groups. In total, for both men and women, there was a slight decrease in the participation rate in most of the age groups, see figure 2.

Figure 2. Persons (15-74 years) in the labour force, by age. In per cent of the population in each group

Q2 2016 Q2 2017
15-19 years 39.9 39.9
20-24 years 70.9 69.9
25-29 years 83.3 83.0
30-34 years 86.4 85.6
35-39 years 88.6 88.1
40-44 years 88.8 89.0
45-49 years 86.5 86.2
50-54 years 85.0 83.7
55-59 years 81.8 81.0
60-66 years 58.7 59.4
67-74 years 13.1 13.1

More people with full-time work

The number of employed people with full-time work increased by 34 000 from the 2nd quarter of 2016 to the 2nd quarter of 2017. During the same period, the number of people who work short part-time, i.e. below 20 hours per week, decreased by 27 000. These changes applied mainly to women, with an increase by 25 000 people working full-time, and a decrease by 17 000 working short part-time.

In the same period, the number of underemployed people decreased by 14 000, falling to 55 000 in the 2nd quarter of 2017. More than half of the underemployed were seeking full-time work.

Decreased unemployment among men

The unemployment rate among men decreased from 5.8 to 4.8 per cent from the 2nd quarter of 2016 to the 2nd quarter of 2017. For women, the rate was 4.0 per cent in the 2nd quarter of 2017, up from 3.6 per cent a year earlier.

The average period of unemployment decreased from 32.2 to 29.3. weeks last year.